An affordable investing strategy.

Investors managing their own money these days have tools that are leaps and bounds ahead of what was available just a decade or two past. Investors can trade instantly on their smartphone, for example. They can also access foreign markets and sophisticated instruments like options and currencies. But best of all, the low-cost index fund revolution allows for just about any strategy to be replicated in an exchange-traded fund that costs only a few dollars in fees each year. Here are nine low-cost funds where you can invest strategically and affordably.

Next:JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (ticker: BBUS) Credit

(Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images)

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (ticker: BBUS)

The ETF arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) doesn't get as much attention as that of bigger shops like iShares or SPDR. However, it is clearly interested in playing with the big boys with this super cheap large-cap fund. BBUS holds more than 600 U.S. companies, blending both growth names like Facebook (FB) and value stocks like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). It also holds some smaller companies, with corporations less than $10 billion in market value making up around 12% of the total portfolio.

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Expense ratio: 0.02% or $2 annually on $10,000 invested

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An affordable investing strategy.

Investors managing their own money these days have tools that are leaps and bounds ahead of what was available just a decade or two past. Investors can trade instantly on their smartphone, for example. They can also access foreign markets and sophisticated instruments like options and currencies. But best of all, the low-cost index fund revolution allows for just about any strategy to be replicated in an exchange-traded fund that costs only a few dollars in fees each year. Here are nine low-cost funds where you can invest strategically and affordably.

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (ticker: BBUS)

The ETF arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) doesn't get as much attention as that of bigger shops like iShares or SPDR. However, it is clearly interested in playing with the big boys with this super cheap large-cap fund. BBUS holds more than 600 U.S. companies, blending both growth names like Facebook (FB) and value stocks like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). It also holds some smaller companies, with corporations less than $10 billion in market value making up around 12% of the total portfolio.

Expense ratio: 0.02% or $2 annually on $10,000 invested

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG)

There’s plenty of competition among large-cap growth ETFs, but this SPDR offering stands out because it is one of the cheapest index funds available. With a simple screen, this fund focuses on the 300 components of the popular S&P 500 index that exhibit the clearest growth characteristics based on profit and sales trends. That means more tech stocks like Facebook and less health care or utility stocks than broad-based funds.

Expense ratio: 0.04%

iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV)

The other side of the coin is this iShares value fund that focuses instead on slower growth companies but ones that have a higher degree of stability and inherent value. The list of holdings is larger at just under 700 picks, but that's because it looks at more smaller-sized companies. Still, the portfolio is selective based on value criteria regardless of size. As a result, financial stocks make up the largest sector at roughly 22% of the holdings, led by megabank JPMorgan.

Expense ratio: 0.04%

Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM)

Charles Schwab is another asset management firm that knows the best way to go toe-to-toe with the leading ETF providers is to offer its own cost-competitive funds. That's what it does here with SCHM, the cheapest option for those looking to play mid-sized U.S. corporations. There are about 500 holdings, such as tech stock Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and oil and gas explorer Diamondback Energy (FANG). The typical stock is less than $10 billion in market value but larger than $1 billion.

Expense ratio: 0.04%

Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SHCA)

The natural partner to the last fund focused on mid-sized companies is to go small with a similar fund from Schwab, but one that focuses on stocks that are less than $3 billion and as small as $300 million. The fund is also much deeper than its mid-sized peer, with more than 1,700 holdings. However, the stocks are evenly spread out across sectors with about 17% of the fund in both financials and tech, followed by about 14% each in both industrials and health care.

Expense ratio: 0.04%

SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF (SPDW)

So far, you may be thinking that the cheapest funds are only focused on domestic stocks. But SPDR proves that wrong with this incredibly cheap ex-U.S. fund that offers a diversified way to invest in a blend of stocks from abroad for an incredibly affordable fee. Made up of some 1,800 stocks, SPDW holds big European names such as Nestle (NSRGY) as well as a handful of lesser-known stocks from Hong Kong to Israel.

Expense ratio: 0.04%

iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (USIG)

This fund is a broad way to target the U.S. corporate bond market through a variety of loans to big corporations across a variety of durations. All told, USIG is comprised of more than 5,000 individual bonds – all of which are "investment grade" with top marks from rating agencies – with an average maturity of more than 10 years. Unsurprisingly, financials like Bank of America (BAC) are tied to the top positions, since these capital intensive companies commonly raise cash via bond offerings. Banks represent about 22% of the USIG bond portfolio, followed by 15% for consumer-related companies.

Expense ratio: 0.06%

SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL)

The SPTL fund is a focused portfolio with less than 100 total bond positions, but all of them being long-term U.S. Treasurys. More than 90% of these are very long term, too, with maturity dates of 20 to 30 years. There is risk in long-term loans, but remember this is U.S. Treasury debt. A loan to Uncle Sam is one of the surest things on Wall Street, both because of the might of the American economy as well as the fact that Washington can raise taxes to cover any shortfall, so these bonds are a bit less riskier than corporates.

Expense ratio: 0.06%

JPMorgan BetaBuilders 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (BBSA)

JPMorgan’s BBSA is a newer fund, launching in March 2019, but investors can have confidence in this ETF both thanks to the big brand behind it and because it is one of the most cost-effective ways for investors to access the short-term bond market. Longer term bonds naturally have more risk, since a lot can go wrong over a decade or two. But with a focus on debt that is five years or less, plus with a mix of government and corporate debt, BBSA takes a lot of the uncertainty out of bond investing.

Expense ratio: 0.05%

9 of the Best Low-Cost ETFs to Buy

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (BBUS)SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG)iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV)Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM)Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SHCA)SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF (SPDW)iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (USIG)SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL)JPMorgan BetaBuilders 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (BBSA)1 of 12

Jeff Reeves, Contributor

A veteran journalist with extensive capital markets experience, Jeff Reeves began writing for ...  Read more

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